On Monday night, the Bay Area came together to support, strengthen and celebrate our theatre community on our 40th anniversary. The Faces of Theatre Bay Area 40@40 Celebration honored 40 theatre artists, leaders and supporters who are making the path to its vibrant future.

The evening began at A.C.T.’s Strand Theater with an enthusiastic welcome and introduction of our 40 honorees from executive director Brad Erickson. Attendees leaped at the chance to explore the Strand’s newly renovated theatre through backstage tours of the space. The party continued to another Market Street hot spot, the historic SHN Orpheum Theatre, with delicious tapas, wonderful performances from local artists and a seriously exciting backstage tour of the Orpheum. A timeline of curated decor displayed archival publications and show posters reaching far into the Bay Area’s theatre past.

During the performances, I sat next to playwright, actor and activist Luis Valdez (a pioneer of Chicano theatre and founder of El Teatro Campesino) and thought about how brave someone has to be to not only express themselves through art but to also express themselves through social movement. Because of him, people can come together and never be forgotten.

As Cassandra Carpenter (a representative from the theatrical designers union USA 829) reminded us, it takes a village of people and skills to put on a life-changing show. Emcee Ellen Sebastian Chang eloquently added, theatre is a "special way to create compassion within a diverse society." Thanks to the energy of attendees bidding on exclusive live and silent auction items like a tour of Pixar, sold-out tickets to Burning Man 2016 and show tickets to Broadway productions, along with a truly electric Fund-a-Need paddle raise, Theatre Bay Area raised thousands of dollars in support of these continued efforts.

The cast of Ray of Light Theatre's The Wild Party. Photo: Tyler Jeffreys

As theatre-makers in one of the most progressive regions in the world, we are in a special place to spread compassion and empathy through our art. Theatre allows the audience to see people who may or not be like them and feel a connection. Let’s keep up the surge of energy so that everyone may continue experiencing the stories of our Bay Area!